Procedures for the first venture capital investment
by the ZAITECH FUND, managed by ATTICA VENTURES (a
member of the Bank of Attica Group) in the share capital
of e-Global S.A. -an ISP and IT company- were successfully
completed.

E-Global, a company involved in the Internet Life
and Community Stations sector, has already developed
a particularly successful network of 14 stores in
Thessaloniki (6 company-owned and 8 franchises) and
in March the first company-owned store in Athens opened
for business. It is worth noting that this network
was developed with zero company borrowing.

As Company Chairman, Mr. Giorgos Katostaris, pointed
out, e-Global’s objective is to develop and expand
its successful model in Athens by initially opening
5 new company-owned stores (the first having already
opened for business in the Dafni area). The aim is
for the company to acquire a total network of 30 company-owned
and franchise stores over the next two years.

For his part, Attica Ventures' CEO, Mr. Giannis Papadopoulos
stressed that, “...our investment in e-Global has
created 70 new jobs, and marks the start of our objective
of making investments which bolster robust, entrepreneurially
innovative SMEs with development prospects. Our aim
is for the Internet Life and Community Stations market
in Greece to become synonymous with e-Global.

Since starting operations Attica Venture’s has been
particularly active, since it has examined the business
plans of more than 400 companies, 14 of which are
in various stages of negotiations and discussions
about participation and it is expected that by the
end of March, when the Fund will have been in operation
for one year, that a further 2-3 investments in companies
will have been made.”

Venture capital as an idea is beginning to develop
a stronger role in Greece since over the last few
months the ranks of existing funds were supplemented
with two other bank funds (just like the others),
a fact which is related to: 1) high returns compared
to other fund investments of this type worldwide,
2) the fact that banks are the largest VC investors
worldwide, 3) the prospects for development of the
Greek economy over a medium- to long-term time frame,
and 4) the new, more favourable legal framework for
business development (development law, taxation of
businesses, competition committee).

In conclusion, as Chairman and Executive Director
of the Bank of Attica, Mr. Koumblis said, "...in
an economy like that of Greece where venture capital
and ways to support the development dynamic of the
economy are being sought, the role of VC companies
is fundamental and substantive, and should be further
bolstered because it provides businesses with cheap
capital, improves their growth and competitiveness
and most importantly assists in the creation of new
jobs and a rise in employment figures."